In an aerial view, two-story single-family homes line neighborhood streets on January 13, 2026 in Thousand Oaks, California.
Kevin Carter | Getty Images
Mortgage rates rose to their highest level since September on Friday as bond yields rose due to the war in Iran.
The average 30-year fixed loan rate reached 6.41%, according to Mortgage News Daily. This is the highest rate since the first week of September, but still lower than the 6.78% recorded at the same time last year.
Mortgage rates loosely track the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, which was rising again on Friday.
“This is counterintuitive to those who expect bonds to serve as a safe haven in times of uncertainty, but when war has a direct impact on inflation expectations, this is more than enough to offset any safe haven benefit that might otherwise be observed,” wrote Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily.
Even as rates began to rise last week, demand for mortgages from home buyers has increased, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, but this week’s new rise could dampen the spring season, which is already plagued by other major headwinds.
Lennar, one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, reported disappointing first-quarter results. Its CEO, Stuart Miller, described headwinds weighing on the broader market, including “high mortgage rates, limited affordability, cautious consumer sentiment and geopolitical uncertainty, particularly now, with the recent conflict in Iran.”
Just two weeks ago, rates had fallen to a multi-year low, briefly touching 5.99%. Now all the savings from those lower rates are gone.
For someone buying a $400,000 home, about the national median, with a 20% down payment on a 30-year fixed mortgage, the monthly payment is now about $115 more than it would have been two weeks ago.